An airfield near the city hosted the most spectacular part of the
Aviadarts-2015 contest: live-fire aerial marksmanship
competitions.

The best Russian Air Force crews slugged it out with about 1,000
real munitions of various types, doing their best to hit tricky
ground targets.

Using cannons, guided
and "dumb" missiles and bombs, the Russian pilots hit all the
intended targets and scored an A grade at Sunday's competitions,
part of the national leg of the overall contests.

But dropping bombs on
targets wasn’t the only skill required: crews also showed off
aerobatic stunts in an airshow.

"Taking part in this competition are the best crews: 61 crews,
144 pilots who won hard-fought contests in their respective
units, and are now competing for the top spots of the front-line,
fighter, bomber and assault Air Force podiums," First Deputy
Defense Minister General Arkady Bakhin said as he lanched the
competition.

The Aviadarts competitions have been taking place yearly since
2013. In 2014, they went international, with Belarus and China
participating. This year, 12 countries are expected to take part.
However, Sunday's display was part of the Russian national leg of
the contest. The final international showdown is scheduled for
August.

Last year, Russian crews took the top spots in the international
Aviadarts rankings. Despite this year's increased competition,
they hope to repeat the triumph, General Bakhin said.

Army recruiters have jumped on the occasion and set up an
enrollment center near the Aviadarts venues. The Air Force
display apparently proved quite inspiring - the recruiters say
over 800 potential contractors visited the center and 457 passed
preliminary tests, although only 177 ended up applying for a
service contract.